Once an offer has been accepted on a home, there is usually a brief burst of excitement. Then the residential conveyancing process begins and, from the outside, everything can suddenly appear to slow down.
The estate agent says the sale is progressing. Your conveyancer is waiting for papers. Searches have been ordered. Somebody further up the chain has not yet received their mortgage offer. Meanwhile, you are wondering whether you can book the removal van or whether you should still avoid buying that sofa.
I remember from my own house moves how odd this stage can feel. You have made the big decision, but much of what happens next takes place somewhere out of sight between conveyancers, lenders, search providers and other people in the chain.
Quick answer: The residential conveyancing process is the legal work involved in transferring a home from seller to buyer. In a typical transaction it includes instructing conveyancers, preparing and checking the contract papers and title, carrying out searches, dealing with the mortgage and enquiries, exchanging contracts, completing the sale and registering the buyer’s ownership.
This guide follows an ordinary sale and purchase in England and Wales from accepted offer to registration and explains what is actually happening at each stage.
Jurisdiction: The conveyancing systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.
Contents
- What is residential conveyancing?
- Before an offer is accepted
- Step 1: The offer is accepted
- Step 2: Conveyancers are instructed
- Step 3: The contract pack is prepared
- Step 4: The buyer investigates the property
- Step 5: Enquiries are raised and answered
- Step 6: Everything is made ready for exchange
- Step 7: Contracts are exchanged
- Step 8: The final completion work is done
- Step 9: Completion takes place
- Step 10: Tax and registration are dealt with
- How long does conveyancing take?
- Why do property chains cause delays?
- Transactions that work differently
- How can buyers and sellers help avoid delays?
- Is the conveyancing process changing?
- Frequently asked questions
What is residential conveyancing?
Residential conveyancing is the legal process involved in selling, buying or transferring a home.
For an ordinary sale and purchase, the conveyancers have to establish what is being sold, whether the seller has the right to sell it and whether the buyer can safely acquire the title.
Buying a property means acquiring more than the bricks, garden and garage you saw at the viewing. The title may contain rights of way, restrictions on use, obligations relating to shared access or drains, and mortgages or other entries that have to be dealt with.
The buyer’s conveyancer investigates those matters before the buyer becomes legally committed. The seller’s conveyancer assembles the information, answers enquiries, prepares the contract and makes sure the existing title and mortgage can be dealt with on completion.
My separate guide explains in more detail what a conveyancing solicitor does for buyers and sellers.
Before an offer is accepted
A seller does not have to wait for a buyer before instructing a conveyancer.
Identity checks can be completed, title documents obtained and the property forms started. Planning permissions, building regulation documents, guarantees and certificates can also be located in advance.
This can be especially useful for leasehold sales, where information may have to come from a landlord, managing agent or management company.
A buyer can also prepare by choosing a conveyancer, obtaining a mortgage agreement in principle and organising evidence showing where the deposit and other purchase money will come from.
None of this commits either side. It simply prevents routine administration from starting from scratch once an offer is accepted.
Step 1: The offer is accepted
A buyer usually makes an offer through the estate agent. If the seller accepts it, the property may be described as sold subject to contract.
This is an important stage, but it does not normally create a binding contract in England and Wales.
Until contracts are exchanged, either buyer or seller can generally withdraw or try to renegotiate the terms. The buyer might do that after a survey reveals a serious defect. A seller might receive another offer.
This is why gazumping and gazundering can happen before exchange.
The estate agent will usually issue a memorandum of sale giving details of the property, agreed price, buyer, seller and their conveyancers. It is useful administratively, but it is not the sale contract.
There are exceptions. Auction purchases and separate reservation or exclusivity agreements can create obligations earlier.
Step 2: Conveyancers are instructed
Buyer and seller will normally each have their own conveyancer.
The conveyancers open their files, obtain instructions and carry out the identity, anti-money laundering and fraud checks required for the transaction.
The buyer will usually have to explain how the purchase is being funded and provide evidence. That may involve savings, investments, sale proceeds, inheritance or money given by a family member.
These questions can feel surprisingly intrusive. They are not an accusation. Large sums of money pass through conveyancing accounts and the conveyancer has to understand where the funds have come from.
If part of the deposit is a gift, the person providing it may also have to supply identification and evidence of the source of their money. The mortgage lender will usually need to know about the gift as well.
The seller provides details of any existing mortgage, estate agent and connected purchase.
The buyer is also commonly asked to pay money on account for searches and other initial expenses. My guide to conveyancing fees and disbursements explains the usual costs in more detail.
Step 3: The contract pack is prepared
The seller’s conveyancer begins by establishing the seller’s title to the property.
For registered land, this will usually involve obtaining official copies of the title register, title plan and any relevant filed documents from HM Land Registry.
If the land is unregistered, ownership has to be established from the title deeds. That can make matters more involved, particularly if deeds are missing or the historic description of the land is unclear.
The seller will normally complete the Law Society’s Property Information Form, currently the TA6, together with a Fittings and Contents Form, usually the TA10. A leasehold seller will generally also complete the TA7 Leasehold Information Form.
The forms deal with matters such as boundaries, disputes, alterations, guarantees, environmental matters, parking, services, occupiers and what is being left at the property.
They need to be completed carefully. Buyers can rely on information given in the TA6, and misleading answers may lead to a compensation claim after completion.
You can read the Law Society’s current explanatory guidance on the TA6 form.
The seller’s conveyancer then prepares the draft contract and sends the contract pack to the buyer’s conveyancer.
Step 4: The buyer investigates the property
This is where much of the buyer’s conveyancing work happens.
Checking the title
The buyer’s conveyancer examines the legal title to establish exactly what the buyer will acquire.
They may need to check the property’s extent, rights of access, drainage and service rights, restrictive covenants, mortgages, rentcharges and obligations relating to shared roads, drives or other facilities.
The buyer should look at the title plan too. HM Land Registry title plans normally show only the general position of boundaries rather than fixing a precise boundary line.
If the plan appears inconsistent with the garden, driveway, parking space or other land you believe you are buying, raise it before exchange.
Conveyancing searches
The buyer’s conveyancer will usually obtain searches. These commonly include local authority, drainage and water and environmental searches, with additional searches where the location or property requires them.
Searches can reveal matters that would be impossible to discover simply by walking around the house, such as planning entries, road proposals, drainage arrangements or environmental risks.
They do not tell you whether the roof is sound or the boiler is on its last legs. That is a different investigation.
My guide to conveyancing searches for homebuyers explains the different searches and their limitations.
The survey
A survey is generally arranged separately by the buyer. It investigates the physical condition of the property rather than its legal title.
A mortgage valuation is not the same thing. Its main purpose is to assist the lender in deciding whether the property provides adequate security for the mortgage.
I have always thought of the surveyor and conveyancer as looking at the same house through different lenses. One might identify an extension, damp, movement or a questionable retaining wall. The other can investigate whether the extension has the necessary legal documentation or whether the title gives the property the rights it needs.
If a survey raises something with a legal aspect, send the relevant section to the conveyancer.
The mortgage
At the same time, a buyer who needs finance will be progressing the mortgage application.
The lender usually obtains a valuation and, if satisfied with the applicant and property, issues a formal mortgage offer.
The buyer’s conveyancer will commonly also act for the lender. That means they owe duties to both and must satisfy the lender’s requirements.
If the title contains a problem that the lender needs to know about, the conveyancer cannot simply ignore it because the buyer is prepared to proceed.
Step 5: Enquiries are raised and answered
Once the buyer’s conveyancer has reviewed the title, forms, searches and any relevant survey information, they can raise enquiries with the seller’s conveyancer.
An enquiry might concern an extension with missing paperwork, an unclear right of way, an inconsistency in the title, an occupier at the property or responsibility for maintaining a private road.
Some answers are straightforward. Others lead to another question.
This is often the stage at which a transaction looks as though it has stopped moving. I understand why buyers and sellers find it frustrating to hear that everyone is still “waiting for replies to enquiries”. But a poor answer does not become satisfactory because somebody is keen to exchange on Friday.
Equally, enquiries should have a purpose. Conveyancing is not an exercise in asking every question that could conceivably be asked about a property.
The seller should answer factual questions honestly and update information if circumstances change before exchange. A materially false statement may sometimes give a buyer a property misrepresentation claim after the purchase.
Step 6: Everything is made ready for exchange
Exchange should take place only when the parties are ready to become legally committed.
For the buyer, this normally means that the title and searches have been investigated, satisfactory replies to the important enquiries have been received, the mortgage offer is available and the buyer understands any relevant survey issues.
The buyer’s conveyancer will report on the property and transaction and provide the documents that need to be signed.
This is one part of the process worth reading properly. The report is not merely paperwork standing between you and the keys. If the conveyancer identifies an unusual restriction, private access arrangement, lease obligation or other continuing liability, this is the time to understand it.
The parties also agree a completion date.
Until exchange actually happens, that date should still be treated with some caution. There is a considerable difference between “everyone is aiming for the 18th” and a completion date written into an exchanged contract.
The Fittings and Contents Form should also be checked before exchange. My guide explains what fixtures and fittings are included when buying a house.
Step 7: Contracts are exchanged
This is the legal turning point.
Buyer and seller will normally have signed separate but identical copies of the sale contract. Their conveyancers formally exchange them, commonly using a professional telephone procedure.
Once exchange takes place, both parties are contractually committed to complete on the agreed date.
If either then fails to complete, the financial consequences can be serious.
The contract commonly provides for a 10% deposit. A smaller amount may actually change hands, particularly in a chain, but that does not necessarily mean the buyer’s contractual exposure is limited to the smaller sum if they later default.
My detailed guide explains what happens at exchange of contracts and why it matters.
Buildings insurance
For many ordinary freehold purchases, the property will be at the buyer’s risk from exchange unless the contract provides otherwise.
The buyer should therefore establish before exchange when buildings insurance needs to begin. Leasehold flats and some new-build transactions can work differently.
There is a separate guide to buildings insurance on exchange of contracts.
Step 8: The final completion work is done
The period between exchange and completion is usually quieter from the client’s perspective, but there is still work to do.
The buyer’s conveyancer prepares the final completion statement, showing the purchase price, money already paid, mortgage advance, tax and other amounts due.
Final searches are carried out. For registered land, a priority search is normally obtained to protect the buyer’s proposed registration against later competing applications during the priority period.
The conveyancer requests the mortgage money and tells the buyer when any remaining personal funds need to be received.
Take particular care when transferring substantial sums. Fraudsters have targeted property transactions by impersonating conveyancers and sending false bank details. Do not send hundreds of thousands of pounds simply because an email appearing to come from the right person tells you to use a different account.
The seller’s conveyancer obtains a final mortgage redemption figure and prepares to repay the existing lender from the sale proceeds.
The seller arranges removals and, where the contract requires vacant possession, must be ready to leave the property empty of people and of belongings that have not been agreed to remain.
Step 9: Completion takes place
Completion is moving day in the legal transaction.
The buyer’s conveyancer sends the completion money to the seller’s conveyancer. Once the money is received, completion is confirmed and the estate agent will normally be authorised to release the keys.
There is no universal time at which this happens.
In a property chain, money often has to travel upwards. One buyer’s money completes the first transaction, allowing that seller to complete their purchase and so on. A delay near the bottom can therefore work its way through several moves.
The seller’s conveyancer repays the seller’s mortgage and deals with authorised payments such as the estate agent’s account and legal costs. The balance belongs to the seller or may be used towards their connected purchase.
For the people moving house, this is the point that matters most: the seller gives up possession and the buyer can collect the keys.
Where registered land is concerned, the buyer’s acquisition must still be registered at HM Land Registry. Registration is therefore part of the legal work after completion rather than a reason to delay collecting the keys.
My completion day guide explains what happens to the money and keys in much more detail.
Step 10: Tax and registration are dealt with
Moving in does not quite finish the conveyancer’s work.
For a purchase in England, the buyer may have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax. Where an SDLT return is required, it must generally be submitted within 14 days of the effective date of the transaction, usually completion, and any tax due must be paid by the deadline.
Current rules and reliefs are available in the official GOV.UK Stamp Duty Land Tax guidance.
Wales has Land Transaction Tax rather than SDLT, so the applicable Welsh rules need to be used for a property there.
The buyer’s conveyancer also applies to HM Land Registry to register the transfer and, where applicable, the new mortgage.
Registration does not always happen immediately. Straightforward applications may be completed relatively quickly, while new leases, first registrations and more complicated title applications can take considerably longer.
A delay in registration does not ordinarily mean there is something wrong with the purchase or prevent the buyer from living in the property. HM Land Registry explains more about registering land and property.
A leasehold purchase may involve additional post-completion steps, such as serving notices on the landlord or management company.
How long does conveyancing take?
There is no fixed legal timetable.
The Government’s June 2026 home-buying reform roadmap says that it currently takes around 120 days on average from an accepted offer to completion. That is roughly 17 weeks.
But an average is not a promise.
A simple chain-free freehold purchase involving an organised buyer and seller may complete considerably sooner. A long chain, leasehold property, unregistered title, difficult mortgage or unresolved legal problem can take longer.
Most of that uncertainty occurs before exchange. The title has to be investigated, searches returned, finance arranged and enquiries dealt with before the parties can safely commit themselves.
The gap between exchange and completion is often much shorter. A week or two is common, but there is no compulsory interval. The parties can agree a longer period or even exchange and complete on the same day.
Why do property chains cause delays?
A chain exists where one transaction depends financially or practically on another.
You might have completed every form, obtained the mortgage offer and answered every question asked of you. That does not necessarily mean you can exchange.
A seller three properties away may still be waiting for leasehold information. Another buyer may be waiting for a mortgage offer. Until all dependent transactions are ready, the chain may be unable to agree a completion date and exchange.
This is one of the most frustrating features of moving home because the problem can be entirely outside your control.
Estate agents often play a useful role in following the chain and identifying where something is outstanding. Your conveyancer can tell you what remains to be done in your own legal transaction, but they may not have a complete picture of every other purchase and sale.
Before exchange, one transaction falling apart may bring several others down with it.
Transactions that work differently
Leasehold property
A leasehold purchase involves investigation of the lease as well as the title.
The conveyancer may need to consider the lease length, ground rent, service charges, insurance, restrictions, management arrangements and planned major expenditure. Information may also have to come from the landlord or managing agent.
That additional layer is one reason leasehold transactions can take longer. My leasehold property guide explains the wider legal framework.
New-build property
Developers often require exchange within a relatively short period after reservation, even though the property itself may still be under construction.
The legal pack can be more extensive and completion may take place after notice from the developer rather than on a date known at exchange. Buyers also need to keep an eye on the expiry of their mortgage offer.
Auction purchases
A traditional auction works very differently because the successful bidder normally becomes contractually bound when the property is knocked down to them.
The legal investigation therefore needs to be carried out before bidding. Discovering an unpleasant title provision afterwards may be too late.
How can buyers and sellers help avoid delays?
You cannot control a local authority search department, another person’s mortgage lender or a managing agent several properties up the chain. But there are some delays you can avoid creating yourself.
Instruct the conveyancer promptly and complete identity and source-of-funds requirements early. Sellers can locate planning approvals, building regulation certificates, guarantees and other paperwork before they are requested.
If you are selling leasehold property, deal with the management information as early as possible.
Buyers should progress the mortgage and survey promptly and tell the conveyancer about anything particularly important to them. If you are buying because the property has two parking spaces, rear access, the ability to work from home or scope for a particular extension, say so.
Respond promptly when information or a signature is needed, but do not confuse speed with rushing into exchange before an important issue has been understood.
And be realistic about moving dates. Until contracts are exchanged, an intended completion date is still capable of moving.
Is the conveyancing process changing?
Yes, although the ordinary process described in this guide still applies.
In June 2026, the Government published a roadmap for reforming home buying and selling in England and Wales. The proposals include making more property information available earlier, expanding digital property information and exploring greater use of binding conditional contracts.
Those reforms are being introduced over time. They do not yet mean that an accepted offer is generally binding or that the existing conveyancing process has been replaced.
The current programme can be followed in the Government’s home buying and selling reform roadmap.
Frequently asked questions
What does sold subject to contract mean?
It means that the seller has accepted an offer but a binding sale contract has not yet been exchanged. In an ordinary transaction, either side can still withdraw or renegotiate.
Can I pull out of a house purchase before exchange?
Usually, yes. You may lose money already spent on legal fees, searches, a survey or mortgage costs, but an ordinary accepted offer is not itself binding.
Different rules can apply to auctions or where a separate reservation, lock-out or other agreement has been entered into.
When should I arrange a survey?
Most buyers arrange it reasonably soon after the offer is accepted. That gives time to investigate any significant findings and decide what to do before contracts are exchanged.
Can I book removals before exchange?
You can obtain quotes and discuss availability, but a non-refundable booking carries a risk. Until contracts are exchanged, the completion date is not fixed by a binding sale contract.
When do I pay the deposit?
The contractual deposit is dealt with at exchange. Your conveyancer may ask you to send the required money earlier so it is cleared and ready when exchange can take place.
What happens if completion is delayed after exchange?
Failure to complete on the contractual date is a breach of contract. Interest and other losses may become payable and a notice to complete may be served.
There is more detail in my guide to delayed conveyancing completion.
From accepted offer to front-door key
Conveyancing can feel slow partly because so much of the important work is invisible.
There may be very little for the buyer or seller to do while a title is being investigated, search results considered, mortgage conditions checked or replies to enquiries chased. The fact that nothing dramatic has happened for a week does not necessarily mean nothing is happening.
Equally, delay should not simply be accepted as an unavoidable feature of conveyancing. Sometimes a transaction really is waiting for one document, one answer or one decision, and it is perfectly reasonable to ask what remains outstanding.
The useful question is usually not simply “Why haven’t we exchanged yet?” but “What exactly still has to happen before we can exchange?”
Once you know what is actually happening, the long stretch between an accepted offer and collecting the keys becomes much less mysterious.
Last legally reviewed: 31 August 2026
This guide is based on general principles of English and Welsh law, is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice or establish a professional relationship.
